Distance Dance Project
Activity 3: Moving Maths
Years 2-3
Level 1
Corners and Angles, Quarter Turns and Half Turns
Key Competency
Thinking
The students will exercise their imagination, problem-solve and make judgements to explore
movement based on corners, quarter turns and right angles. They will select, rehearse, recall
and perform movement, and will reflect on their learning and performance throughout the
process.
Participating and Contributing
Students will respond to dance as group and class members. They will collaborate, share
ideas, and lead and follow others. They will participate in small group activities requiring
cooperation and they will contribute ideas to solve problems and complete movement tasks.
Key Words
Circle, square, levels (high, medium, low), body base, locomotor movement, non-locomotor
movement, quarter turn, half turn, still shapes, air pathway, floor pathway, clockwise, anticlockwise
Resources
Dancing The Key Competencies
Key dance vocabulary – level, body base, locomotor movement, non-locomotor movement
Geometric shapes - pictures of the eight shapes
Floor markers (non-slip matting) in square shapes
Music: Wobbly Tooth (instrumental version), by John Phillips, 101 Kiwi Kidsongs
Learning Goals
The student will be able to:
1. Show that corners can be demonstrated as angular still shapes or through movement
when changing direction (turning)
2. Show that a quarter turn is a right angle
3. Travel in clockwise and anticlockwise directions
4. Work cooperatively with others to perform exciting moving and still right angle shapes
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Teaching and Learning Sequence
Lesson 1
Corners, angles, right angles and quarter turns
1. Show students a circle, a square and a triangle.
Identify the shapes and discuss the features of each:
“How many sides?”
“How many corners?”
“Do all shapes have edges and corners?” (Circles are made up of many tiny edges that
look like a curve when they are joined up.)
2. What is a corner? What is an angle? What is a turn?
(A corner is where two edges meet or where one edge turns and changes to a different
direction. Edges are straight and consequently, corners are sharp.)
“Make a corner with your elbow.”
What is the space in between the two arm bones called? (Angle)
“Make a corner with your knee.”
“Find another way to make a corner with your body.”
Look at the right angle man:
How many right angles or corners has he made?
Notice how straight and sharp his body parts are.
Copy him.
Find another way to make lots of right angles.
3. Frame a Corner/Frame an Angle
“Walk around the room and stop beside a shape that has corners. If you can reach, place
your arms along the two of the edges.”
Discuss that these corners are right angles and that they have to be straight up or down
or sideways so that the building is strong. If the angles weren’t right angles the walls
wouldn’t support each other properly and the building might fall down.
Encourage others to help complete reachable edges of the frame.
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Examples of corners will be found in window frames, books, a mat or the whiteboard.
If possible, photograph students working together to ‘frame a corner’.
4. Floor Pathway Squares - clockwise and anti-clockwise
Music: Wobbly Tooth
Introduce the words clockwise and anti-clockwise.
Using the floor markers and some lively music, walk in clockwise and anticlockwise
directions around the square.
How many right angles did you make to get back to where you started?
Each time you made a right angle, you were turning a corner.
What does ‘turn’ mean? (Change direction)
Explore with different locomotor movement: marching, tiptoeing, crawling and walking
sideways
5. Making turns on the spot
Define a right angle
Make a turn to the right (clockwise)
Make another one
Make another one
Make another one. Where are we now? How many quarter turns did we make before we
arrived back at the start?
Four quarter-turns make a full turn.
Repeat the four quarter turns, but in an anti-clockwise direction.
Think about how you perform your quarter turns.
Try jumping with 2 feet together. Try again but keep your body straight and your tummy
button over your toes so you stay balanced.
Explore performing 2 feet jumping quarter and half turns.
Try landing in straddle, on one foot, fancy arms
Show students a little sequence:
To right: 4 x 2-2 quarter turns
To left: 4 x 2-2 quarter turns
To right: straddle, 2-2, to left straddle, 2-2
To left: straddle, 2-2, to right straddle, 2-2
Now using the music once more, try marching in a square for
(Some may try a ¾ turn – check where they need to face at the end.
6. Gather the students in a close group again and revise corners, angles, turns and right
angles, adding in any new knowledge gained during the lesson.
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Lesson 2
1. Introduction: Revising angles, corners and right angles
Show me how to make an angle with your arm. Point to an angle that your arm has
made.
Make the angle bigger.
Make the angle very small
Make a very your arm into a right angle. Point to the right angle.
Show me how to make your leg into a right angle. Point to the right angle.
Look at the square. How many sides does it have?
How many corners does it have?
How many right angles does it have?
Look at ‘right angle man’. How many right angles is he making?
2. Learning goals
Read and discuss, especially:
 Corners and quarter turns and right angles
o Travelling – changing direction
o Jumping – who remembers our quarter turn jumping sequence?
o Still shapes
 Travelling clockwise - like a good clock
 Travelling anticlockwise - like a broken clock
 Why might we make a dance about maths?
(To teach classmates what some important maths ideas mean.)
3. Travelling and Turning - clockwise and anti-clockwise
Music: Wobbly Tooth by John Phillips
Use the floor markers to mark a large square.
(If space is available, set out several squares and divide the class into groups of 4 and
each student stands on one corner.)
Students find a spot to stand on the outside of the square.
Revise the words clockwise and anti-clockwise.
Using the floor markers, walk in clockwise and anticlockwise directions around the
square.
How many right angles did you make to get back to where you started?
Each time you made a right angle, you were turning a corner.
What does ‘turn’ mean? (Change direction)
Repeat travelling with the ‘Wobbly Tooth’ music.
Explore with different locomotor movement: marching, tiptoeing, crawling and walking
sideways
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4. Turning On The Spot
Revise the quarter turns to the right.
How many quarter turns did we make before we arrived back at the start?
Four quarter-turns make a full turn.
Think about how you perform your quarter turns.
Try jumping with 2 feet together. Try again but keep your body straight and your tummy
button over your toes so you stay balanced.
Try and keep your feet together, but remember to bend your knees when you land so
that you don’t hurt yourself. See if you can find a spot on each wall to look at when you
turn.
Explore performing 2 feet jumping quarter and half turns.
With your buddy, take turns to watch each other. Tell them how straight their body is
and if you see something they could improve on.
Revise the sequence:
To right: 4 x 2-2 quarter turns – what arm movements can we make?
To left: 4 x 2-2 quarter turns – can we make up some new arm movements?
To right: straddle, 2-2, to left straddle, 2-2
To left: straddle, 2-2, to right straddle, 2-2
To right: 2 x half turns
To left: 2 x half turns
On the spot: a 2 feet jump to finish in a fancy right angle shape.
5. Making the Right Angles
Define a right angle once more.
Right Angle Man brought along some friends!
Discuss the different body bases they are using.
Copy the right angle people and make each of their right angle shapes.
Work with your buddy and pick 2 right angle people shapes. Rehearse performing them
together, one shape after the other, or make up a new one.
Make sure that the corers are clear and sharp.
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6. Putting the Dance Together
Revise the three parts to the dance travelling, jumping and on the spot with still shapes.
Rehearse walking in a clockwise direction for 8 counts and an anticlockwise direction for
8 counts.
Rehearse with music. (Wobbly Tooth)
How can we make it more interesting? How can we make our corners sharp and clear?
Revise the jump sequence.
Rehearse with the walking section and then the jumps.
What do we need to improve?
Rehearse once more.
Add in the still shapes – revise them and then add to the dance.
What do we need to improve or develop or perform better?
I think we need a good finish. Try walking clockwise and anticlockwise once more after
the second still shape and then walking to the middle and making your favourite right
angle shape.
Now perform it as one dance.
7. Reflection
What do you think of the dance we made?
What were we trying to show in the dance?
What do we know about corners, quarter turns and right angles?
How well did we participate?
Look at the Learning Goals once more and discuss.
Where to next?
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Right Angle Man
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Learning Goals
Moving Maths
I will be able to:
1. Participate in a group dance about corners
2. Show that corners are right angles or quarter turns
3. Show that corners can be made by travelling, jumping
and making still shapes
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A quarter turn is a right angle
¼ = one quarter
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